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Boys lacrosse: Neuqua Valley downs Barrington to earn state trip

Neuqua Valley boys lacrosse coach Josh Maluta took a risk Tuesday night in the supersectional.

Maluta brought up freshman Charlie Stemen to be his team's goalie when the Wildcats played Barrington for the right to go to the state finals at Hinsdale Central Thursday night. It was a risky move.

"Yes, I did take a risk bringing up Stemen," said Maluta. "He has confidence in his abilities and he showed it. I love his fundamentals and the way he positions himself in the goal. He's going to be a big part of our team's future."

Stemen, while only playing the first half, put on a show by saving 8 shots in Neuqua Valley's 17-10 win over the Broncos. The game was moved to Schaumburg High School Tuesday morning after a power failure at Hoffman Estates made the move necessary.

The Wildcats, now 17-3 and ranked ninth in the state, will now play New Trier Thursday at 5 p.m. Neuqua Valley lost to the Trevians two years ago in the quarterfinals before lacrosse became an IHSA state series sport.

"I really didn't have a chance to be nervous when coach told me I was going to start the game in goal," said Stemen. "Yes, I did have some jitters but, I was hoping to win this one. I knew I would have to do my job. My defenders did a great job of helping out. This was certainly a different type of experience playing at this level. I had only played in parts of two varsity games this year."

Dylan Gramza, Ben Schink, Holden Charboneau, Carter Sessa, and Eddie McDonald provided strong defense for the Wildcats.

They also helped second half senior goalie Cameron Nevins (4 saves) preserve the win.

On offense the always reliable Ben Foy keyed the attack. Foy scored 5 goals and had 4 assists to give the senior 63 goals and 59 assists for 122 points, a school record.

"He's a four-year player for us," said Maluta. "He's our quarterback out there on the field. "He keeps things under control for us. He's a smart player (4.4 GPA, 35 ACT) and makes good decisions wether it's in front of the net or from behind.

Barrington's (8-14) Nathan Nguyen (3 goals) tied the score at 1-1 with 6:07 left in the initial quarter. From then on the Wildcats took over.

Dan Curtis, Schink, Foy, and Caiden Perry (4 goals) each tallied a goal as the Wildcats finished the quarter ahead 5-1.

A 6-3 second quarter gave Neuqua Valley an 11-4 lead at halftime and the Wildcats were never headed from there.

Foy's 4 assists came from behind the net in the first half.

"Usually I'm on the right wing," said Foy. "But sometimes I like to play the two-man game from behind the net. We were all ready to work tonight. We came out with a lot of intensity. This game was big for us to get back to the state finals. To advance we know we are going to have to eliminate mistakes."

Cade Champion scored 4 goals for the Wildcats and Mark Trelo added 2 more.

Barrington put together a strong state tournament run to make it to the supersectional.

"We really played some of our best ball the last week and one half," said Barrington head coach Jason Kaiser. "We made it a lot further than anyone thought we could."

Matthew Bischoff added 2 goals for the Broncos.

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